Beaches to Find Sea Glass in the U.K.

Sea glass is produced from glass discarded in the sea. Over time the ocean, sand and pebbles pummel the jagged glass edges, smoothing and rounding them. Most sea glass is white or green. Blue or red glass is more prized and valuable. People enjoy combing beaches to find sea glass to collect or turn into jewellery. Some beaches in the U.K. have more sea glass than others such as those near glass factories, dump sites or those that are particularly busy.

Jewellery designer Gina Cowen finds most of her sea glass on north-eastern beaches in England. They are the best in the country for sea glass, she told the Northern Echo newspaper. She favours the beaches in Seaham, Ryhope and Easington in County Durham whose sea glass came from the Candlish Glass bottleworks factory. After the factory closed in 1921, hundreds of glass bottles in many colours ended up in the sea .

The Odyssey Sea Glass website recommends several beaches in Cornwall in the south-western tip of the U.K. These are Pentewan Beach, St. Mawes, Harbour Beach in St. Ives, Marazion and Talland Bay. Kate Leity of Glasswing Jewellery, and Adele Stanbridge of Hastha Kala make jewellery from sea glass they find on beaches in Cornwall. The beaches of the Isles of Scilly off Cornwall are also known for sea glass. Rebecca Smith in St. Agnes and Fay Page in St. Martin's make jewellery using sea glass and other objects they find on these beaches, according to Cornwall Life website.

Brighton's sand-free shingle beach is a good place to find sea glass. In summer this beach in south-east England is packed with sun bathers and concert revellers who leave behind glass waste. A visitor to Odyssey Sea Glass website said his experience was to find six to 15 jewellery-grade pieces on the beach per hour. Jewellery maker Hannah Marshall of the Beach Shack Project also scours this beach for material for her creations, according to Drift Magazine. She finds everything from sea glass to fishing nylon, driftwood and shells.